(Please bare with me as I write this. I am exhausted and have had very little sleep!)
Thursday was a long day of waiting. My dad checked into the hospital around 5:30 AM. They gave him a "don't care" shot and he was very cute. All smiles :-) Suddenly, he appeared small and fragile to me. This was despite the fact that in general, he's been looking the best he had since he finished his chemo and radiation. But it was time for them to wheel him away and I remember thinking that I wasn't ready even though he was. It was shortly after 7 when they took him away.Jessie, Diane and I went to the waiting room where we took up residence. We waited and waited. We got few updates. Mostly it was just that he was "still in surgery" and it was "going well." After what seemed like ages, they told us they were beginning the "thorachotomy"... (I'm still not positive which part that was). And finally, we were told it was over! I think it was after 3 PM. Please keep in mind that all day I noticed surgeons coming out and speaking with family members. Suddenly, a volunteer came to us and told us that she was going to escort us to a room for the surgeon to be able to speak with us privately. When we got in the room I asked Diane what she thought about this and she confessed that she was nervous. I just kept thinking about all those surgeons I had seen talking to family members out in the main waiting room. Then I said a silent prayer, and remembered that God is in control. Let go, let God...
Dr. Moore (sp?) came in and said it went well. It was even one of the best he's ever seen! He could tell how excited we were to hear that. However, he cautioned us that my dad "isn't out of the woods yet." There can be any number of complications because this was such a major surgery and he wouldn't be cleared as "good to go" till at least 5 days post-op in the ICU. It would be another 45 minutes or so before we could see my dad. Dr. Moore also said that we should be prepared to see him with a ventilator for a couple of days and that he might look like he had been hit by a truck. ;-)
We rushed up to the ICU as soon as we were allowed. We walked around a little lost and saw a pale bald cancer patient, fresh out of surgery, on a ventilator and looking "like he was hit by a truck." We told the nurse showing us around that we thought it was him... Oooops... Just another pale bald man. Then from down the hall, I turned to see my dad being wheeled towards us on his bed. Not only was there no ventilator attached to him, but he was smiling a huge smile and holding BOTH thumbs up! The nurse who was wheeling him stopped and said he did great and that he thought he might have had the wrong patient because my dad was doing so well! He was talking and alert! I had honestly feared that he wouldn't have even known that I was here the entire time of my visit. Everyone was so impressed! All the nurses commented on how wonderfully he was doing. After they got him settled we finally got to have a nice little visit. What an amazing sigh of relief!
Let me just tell you about the tubes and wires. He is WIRED! There are so many tubes and wires coming out every which way! There is a nasal intubation (NG Tube) that is sewn into his nose. He doesn't like it. hehe - who would? But he's adorable. So cute trying to look at the tube at the end of his nose, crossing his eyes. He had an epidural as well. I told him now that we have something in common and that I LOVED my epidural! (Personally, with Jacob, I professed my undying love to my anesthesiologist.) He's got a wired button to call the nurse, a wired button for pain meds, and he has his own "harry potter wand." Its a tube for suction like at the dentist. He was waving it around saying "expelaramous!" I love that he has a sense of humor!
Last night he had no pain, per se, but he had a lot of discomfort. Unfortunately today, as the epidural wore off, he began to experience pain in his chest where there is an incision. But, when we left the hospital tonight, with the help of new pain meds, he was back to "discomfort" so I felt good about that.
I am sure that there is much that I am forgetting. But he is doing so well. OH - I forgot - he got up today and was placed in a chair! Sitting up! What a big boy :-). He is an overachiever and I know he wants his recovery to be as quick as possible, but he's going to have to take it easy. :-D
We took some photos so you can see all the tubes! Fun fun! Enjoy!
Please continue to send your powerful thoughts and prayers his way. Thank you!
Ahna
